Realme, Oppo’s sister brand, has had an impressive first quarter of the year recording a massive 550 percent growth in global sales of its premium handset range. The Chinese company is now looking to extend its premium strategy in Kenya as well as other countries, hoping to replicate the success they have had in Q1 for the rest of the year.
The driving force behind the 550 percent sales growth is the GT Series, the brand’s most premium phones, which retail at an average price of Ksh 40,000 in the Kenyan market.
“The device is overwhelmingly welcomed due to the modern technologies equipped to deliver the premium holistic mobile experience to users,” says Realme CEO, Sky Li, in a statement from the company.
The Kshs 40,000 range is a very competitive space to try and break into taking into consideration the likes of Samsung, Xiaomi, Infinix, and even Apple – with the iPhone SE – have a plethora of competitive devices targeting this middle range market.
Kenya has contributed to this growth with its two GT models- the GT Master edition Explorer and the GT Master Edition available in the market. The two comes with exquisite designs as well as great processors, display and all with huge storage capacities of up to 128 GB.
However, the GT NEO 3 from Realme has done well to take a bite in this market with some impressive specs offering a competitive package.
The device is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8100 which is a decent middle range CPU. Where it shines though is its 150W (UltraDart) ultrafast charging which is currently the fastest charging standard in the world.
Combined with a decent rear triple camera setup, the GT NEO 3 has turned out to be a hit in China, securing sales of more than 100,000 units in under 10 hours when it was first released to the public.
The GT 2 Series, is also another line up that is pushing the impressive numbers for Realme. Announced at MWC 2022, the series features the fastest processor in the market, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 as well as what the company calls the world’s first 2K AMOLED flat display.
If you are asking yourself why you have not seen a lot of these devices in the Kenyan market, it is probably because the bulk of Realme’s sales is concentrated in the European and Chinese markets.
The company highlights that they had a more than 90 times rise in Europe and a year-on-year growth of 474% in China. However, they maintain that this growth mirrors successes in Kenya and other African countries.
Sky Li reiterates that the company will maintain the momentum to produce tech-trendy premium handsets that integrate tech innovations and modern cultures for the young population with disposable income in Kenya and other markets.
“With the resounding support from our community, it is possible for us to continuously dedicate and create new values for the technology industry and life standards,” said Li.
In the entry level market, Realme has the C25Y model retailing for around Ksh 19,000 which puts it directly against the Redmi Note 11 which we have previously reviewed.
The middle range market is proving to be very successful for Realme, and it will be interesting to see how their products perform in Q2 and also later in the year when the other OEMs have released their lineups for 2022. But so far, it looks like the company is headed for a very productive year.
